Anglican North Coast Children's Home under Royal Commission spotlight

TONY EASTLEY: When victims began to make claims of abuse at an Anglican run children's home in Lismore in New South Wales in 2005, the Anglican Church argued it didn't have a duty of care to the orphans who were abused at the home.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will begin its third public inquiry today, and the focus is on the North Coast Children's Home.

The public hearing will investigate how complaints of abuse were handled, how the group claim was settled and what happened when other former residents of the orphanage came forward.

AM's Emily Bourke reports.

EMILY BOURKE: The Anglican Church ran the North Coast Children's Home in Lismore from the 1940s to the 1980s.

In 2005, former residents from the home started coming forward, alleging physical, psychological and sexual abuse, dating back decades.

How the Church responded to those complaints and what redress it offered will now be dissected by the Royal Commission.

TOMMY CAMPION: I was still fighting and fighting when Julia Gillard stood up an announced a Royal Commission, and I felt safe then.

EMILY BOURKE: Tommy Campion was abused at the Lismore orphanage between 1948 and 1963.

He'll be appearing before the Royal Commission today to explain his efforts to bring the Church to account.

TOMMY CAMPION: Eight years I fought, every day, in some small way, writing probably 1000 letters all up, to different members of the Church. I wrote and let them know how I was abused, and how I was belted and flogged.

I just wanted them to write back and apologise et cetera, et cetera, and then I thought, well I'll be able to get on with my life.

EMILY BOURKE: What was the response?

TOMMY CAMPION: Well, the response was absolutely amazing. They said you were in an Anglican home which was supposed to be safe, but which was clearly not. They said they'd look after me, they gave me phone numbers to ring and there was money going to be organised in the vicinity of about 70 to 80 grand.

EMILY BOURKE: Just for you?

TOMMY CAMPION: For myself.

EMILY BOURKE: So what changed?

TOMMY CAMPION: I decided not to accept it; I just felt that it was so wrong that, and all these other children. Yeah I decided they had a right to know that they could be compensated. And obviously the church wasn't going to tell them, so I thought I'd do it.

So I put up free little advertisements, and soon people started to come forward. Well, after that the Church didn't want to know anything about myself. They decided to fight.

EMILY BOURKE: So how were things settled?

TOMMY CAMPION: There was a decision made by the lawyer and the Church to pay the people something like $800,000 between 41.

EMILY BOURKE: Did you accept the money?

TOMMY CAMPION: No I didn't.

EMILY BOURKE: The Royal Commission will hear from a small number of survivors, as well as representatives of the Anglican Church in Grafton who were in charge of the compensation process.

Janette Dines is the chief executive of the Royal Commission.

JANETTE DINES: This case will bring forward painful stories from some very courageous victims and one of the things that we've found is the community doesn't appreciate the nature and extent of abuse and particularly the extreme physical abuse that can accompany sexual abuse.

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